President-elect Donald Trump has asked the U.S. military to reveal information about recent drone sightings along the East Coast, which has been of much public interest and concern. Speaking at a press conference in Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, Trump said that the government should tell citizens. “The government knows what is happening,” Trump said. “For some reason, they don’t want to comment.”. And I think they’d be better off saying what it is our military knows and our president knows.
Trump dismissed the possibility of a direct enemy threat but did not delve into specifics. He also declined to confirm whether he had been briefed on the matter by intelligence agencies.
The Pentagon repeated the message on Monday morning, and in its clarification, Major General Pat Ryder explained that the drones operated were not those of the U.S. military. “It’s pretty common,” said Ryder. “Drones fly over the U.S. all the time. It’s usually harmless. There are thousands of drones flown around the U.S. daily… It’s not unusual to see drones in the sky, nor does it indicate malicious activity.”. He said such flights of drones near military installations occur from time to time and hardly threaten operations.
The reports started in mid-November in New Jersey and spread to Maryland, Massachusetts, and more states. Over 5,000 reports, the FBI said it found less than 100 serious enough to merit further examination. According to U.S. officials, most of the reported sightings involved manned aircraft, not drones.
Mike Waltz, the choice of President Donald Trump for national security adviser, said Sunday that these drone incidents raise important issues in U.S. airspace security that deserve immediate attention. In response, the military is deploying drone detection and tracking systems to locations such as Picatinny Arsenal and Naval Weapons Station Earle in New Jersey, but it remains unknown when they will be activated.
White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby assured the public: “There is no such evidence of unlawful activity nor a national security threat.” Added Kirby, “The assessment directly comes from U.S. law enforcement agencies.”
Trump’s talk on airspace security has, again, reopened public debate where officials are closely monitoring the event. The government says the phenomenon presents no immediate threat, but some demand transparency.